This invention concerns water outlets such as shower heads and water spouts for ablutionary devices or appliances.
It is known to adapt outlets to help water to drain from the outlets when a flow of water is no longer being supplied to the outlets to minimise the risk of the outlets being damaged by frost, and it is commonplace for some water to drain out of outlets when the supply flow thereto ceases.
However conventional outlets usually remain internally moist when not in use, and it is known for bacteria to multiply therein causing problems. For example, some such bacteria are pathogens, e.g. legionella, and others can form muscus-like films and multiply to an extent sufficient to block or restraint the fine spray holes in outlets such as shower heads.
In order to reduce such problems, in accordance with the present invention there is provided an outlet of the aforementioned kind is characterised in that it is provided with at least one vent to admit air into a body of the outlet and a member movable between an in-use position in which it at least partially closes the vent and a not in-use position in which the vent is open so that air can circulate within the body to remove moisture.
For those outlets which are in the form of shower heads having a perforate shower plate situated in a discharge opening in the body, the shower plate may be movable to serve as said member and the discharge opening may serve as said vent, the shower plate being movable between the in-use position in which it occupies the discharge opening to close the vent (except for the perforations in the plate itself) and the out of use position in which it is clear of the discharge opening so that air can flow freely into the body and around the plate. The plate is preferably accessible or exposed for disinfecting or cleaning on both sides in the not in-use position.
For these outlets which are in the form of spouts, e.g. on tap fittings for sinks, baths and bidets, the vent is preferably provided in the body remote from the water discharge opening and the member preferably moves so that in the not in-use position air can pass freely through the body from the vent to the discharge opening or vice versa.
The vent preferably provides access into the outlet for injection of disinfectant or cleaning solutions.
The member is preferably movable by an actuator. The actuator is preferably responsive to water pressure to move the member from the not in-use position to the in-use position, and is also preferably biased to move the member in the reverse direction. However, the actuator may be manually, electrically or thermally actuated.
The actuator or a further actuator preferably controls a valve which controls a purging flow passage in the body. A drain conduit or duct may be attached to or disposed adjacent to the body to receive purging water from said flow passage.
The actuator or further actuator may incorporate means to provide hysteresis in moving the valve from a closed condition to allow a purging flow of water through the outlet and via the flow passage to drain conduit or duct. The actuator may incorporate means to provide hysteresis also in moving the member from the not in-use to the in-use position, especially in shower head versions of the outlet, and means to inhibit discharge of water as a fine spray until the outlet has been purged.
The actuator may also move a valve to close a passage between an inlet to the body and the, or a, discharge opening when the outlet is moved to the not in-use condition.